New CEO for Pittsburgh Zoo vows to seek accreditation
The incoming president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, whose appointment to the post was announced Thursday, said regaining the zoo’s accreditation from the nation’s largest industry organization will be one of his primary goals.
Dr. Jeremy Goodman will head the zoo in Highland Park starting Oct. 1, taking over for Dr. Barbara Baker, who recently retired after serving as president and CEO for 31 years.
His close ties to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums may be helpful in bringing the Pittsburgh Zoo back into compliance with city lease requirements that include membership in the organization, although he acknowledged that he, too, hasn’t always agreed with all of the rules imposed by the group.
A veterinarian, Dr. Goodman comes to Pittsburgh after spending eight years as the executive director of the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, R.I.
In announcing the appointment, Donna Hudson, board chair of the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh, emphasized his track record.
“He will bring new perspective and experience to advancing our [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] accreditation, renewing our lease with the city, creating and updating exhibitions, and engaging the community in new ways in order to further enhance and grow our zoo,” Ms. Hudson said in a statement.
In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, Dr. Goodman said he was looking forward to meeting the zoo’s staff and hearing from the Pittsburgh community. He said it would be premature to discuss new features or exhibits before he had a chance to talk with those stakeholders.
“Every zoo and aquarium and
each city has their own flavor, and there isn’t a magical formula for all facilities to follow,” he said. “It really is [about] finding the right pieces for the greater Pittsburgh community and what works for the Pittsburgh zoo and aquarium.”
Several factors made the Pittsburgh job attractive to him, including the zoo’s International Conservation Center in Somerset County and the full aquarium inside the facility. “The Pittsburgh zoo has national recognition as being one of the top zoos in the country,” he said.
In the zoo’s announcement, officials cited Dr. Goodman’s reputation of strengthening the financial positions of the organizations where he has previously worked.
At the Roger Williams Park Zoo, the release said, he found new sources of revenue through public funding, grants and campaigns, including for installing the largest single new exhibit ever built at the zoo.
The Rhode Island zoo said on its website that Dr. Goodman oversaw “a substantial period of growth” with nearly $27 million in capital improvements. He was also credited with developing a new master plan, which emphasized efforts to exemplify best practices in animal care, conservation, environmental education and visitor experience.
According to its website, the 40-acre Rhode Island zoo hosts about 650,000 visitors annually and has more than 160 species of animals. The Pittsburgh zoo has more than 600 species, according to the announcement of Dr. Goodman’s appointment.
Before going to Providence, Dr. Goodman served for nine years as the director of the Turtle Back Zoo in Essex County, N.J. There, too, he was seen as turning around the finances of the organization as well as with helping it achieve its first national accreditation by the AZA.
He is a member of the AZA’s Annual Program Management Committee and an accreditation inspector for the association based in Silver Spring, Md.
Under Dr. Baker, the Pittsburgh zoo decided to reject new elephant handler safety guidelines and drop accreditation by the 241member AZA, the largest, oldest and most prestigious organization of zoos and aquariums in the U.S. and seven other countries.
The Pittsburgh zoo announced in March that it is reapplying for membership and accreditation, saying at the time that the decision was made to comply with the requirements of its city lease, which mandates that the zoo be an accredited AZA member.
The lease for the city property where the zoo is located runs through 2022. The zoo has been in violation of that provision since 2015.
The AZA accreditation office said in June that it does not have an application on file from the Pittsburgh zoo, but it was aware that the organization intends to apply for accreditation.
Dr. Goodman said on Thursday that getting the zoo’s Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation back is a priority. “The board ... voted unanimously to go seek AZA accreditation this past year, so it’s very important to the zoo,” he said.
He noted that the zoo has a number of other accreditation certifications. “But I really feel that AZA is really the most rigorous of all the processes and what I would consider the gold standard for zoos and aquariums,” he said.
Natalie Ahwesh, the executive director of Humane Action Pittsburgh — an animal advocacy group that had criticized the zoo’s earlier decision to drop out of the association — said she was hopeful that Dr. Goodman would follow through on renewing the accreditation.
She said Humane Action Pittsburgh planned to send a letter within the next week requesting a meeting with him. “We really look forward to giving him an opportunity to perform before we make any judgment,” she said.
Ms. Ahwesh raised a concern about the use of bullhooks at Roger Williams Park Zoo, which she said was one of the last zoos to stop using the tool to guide elephants.
The Roger Williams Park Zoo ended the practice in 2019 after the AZA banned the use of the tool except for during emergency situations. At the time, the association said the bullhook was unnecessary and had a historical association with abuse of elephants, according to CNN.
Dr. Goodman said Thursday that the Providence zoo ended the practice to keep its accreditation, but he said he did not agree with the AZA’s ban on the practice.
“The fact that we were using either different tools or had different methods does not mean what is being done is wrong,” he said. “It’s just that in order for us to achieve AZA accreditation — or, in our case here at Roger Williams Park, to maintain accreditation — we have to comply with all the rules.
“It’s like any other type of handbook or set of guidelines or rules — you don’t always agree with everything, but if you want to be part of a greater association and part of a larger network of zoos doing amazing things, then sometimes there’s things that you don’t agree with that you have to comply with,” he continued.
“I’m not saying that AZA is wrong at all, but I’m just also saying that the way that people have managed their zoo other than what AZA determines as best practices is not necessarily wrong.”
Dr. Goodman has a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University as well as a bachelor of science degree in animal science from Rutgers University. After college, he worked as a private practice veterinarian.
His first zoo management role was as assistant director of the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Ind.
The zoo said Dr. Baker — who announced her retirement in June — will hold the honorary title of president emeritus and will be available to consult with the board and Dr. Goodman through the end of 2022 to ensure a smooth transition.